View full sizeCourtesy of Tiffany Boothe/Seaside AquariumThe body of a 12-foot female orca washed ashore near Long Beach, Wash, about a mile north of the Cranberry beach approach, on Saturday. A Portland State University biology professor and Cascadia Research biologists performed a necropsy Sunday on the animal.

The 12-foot female orca washed ashore about a mile north of the Cranberry approach, Tiffany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium wrote in an e-mail. She said that obvious external signs of decomposition confirmed the whale had been dead for a while, and the animal was moved for a necropsy, which was performed Sunday by Portland State University biology professor Debbie Duffield and Cascadia Research biologists.

The whale's exact age was not confirmed, but the size indicates she was between 3 and 6 years old. Boothe said the whale could be a resident belonging to the "L pod," but that has not been confirmed by photo identification and DNA testing.